Don't Break the Ice
by Hasbro
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List Price: Our Price: $9.49 You Save: $0.50 (5%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Don't Break the Ice
Customer Review: Hammer to Fall
Summary: 5 Stars
Thanks to some clumsy pre-teen footing I once fell through the ice. Not metaphorically, either. Literally. If it wasn't for the quick thinking of my pal cousinpaco, chatchi would still be at the bottom of the frozen creek and I wouldn't be around today to share his story.
The years following my mishap were plagued by nightmares of falling through the ice - over and over and over again. But in my dreams cousinpaco wasn't there to save me.
I enrolled in some deep-hypnotic therapy, then medically-induced comas, hoping to rid my life of these horrible memories. When that didn't work my therapist recommended I deal with my fears head-on...
By purchasing the popular Hasbro game, Don't Break the Ice.
I questioned his rationale at first, but after only a few games it was clear why he recommended it. The ice-skating polar bear symbolized me - warm, dry and carefree on the surface of the ice. The two light-weight green mallets symbolized life's adversities, slowly but surely chipping away at the ice around me.
The purpose of Don't Break the Ice is to use the mallets to knock away the "ice" cubes without jeopardizing the life of the polar bear, who would much rather ice skate than fall through the ice to the frigid water below.
The tapping sound the mallet makes as it strikes the ice often reminds me of the cracking ice I heard that fateful day, but thanks to the replay-ability of Don't Break the Ice, I eventually got over my fear of frozen water (and the tapping noise).
I'd recommend this game to anyone with similar life-changing experiences such as mine, and I'll certainly recommend it to my children should they ever fall through the ice. Metaphorically AND literally.
Don't Break the Ice is meant for two or more players, but it only takes one person to fall through the ice. Two people if you want someone to save you after you fall through the ice.
Customer Review: Fun for kids. For parents? Not so much.
Summary: 3 Stars
I recently got this at a mass retailer during one of their super sales and I'm very glad I paid way less than list price. I have a feeling I'll be hiding this one from the kids very soon, and if I'd spent more than a few bucks on it then I'd be pretty upset about that.
Here's the issue: my 4-yr-old son and his 5-yr-old friend played with it earlier today for the about ten minutes. They loved it and keep cheering for MORE, MORE, MORE! I put the pieces back together and set it up for them six times... in ten minutes. I have a feeling that if I hadn't put a time limit on it, they'd have wanted to play it all afternoon and, unfortunately, my sanity can't handle that.
The game relies on someone with relatively strong fingers putting all the "ice" blocks in the plastic frame in order to get it set up. This takes about a minute and a half. The game itself takes about 35 seconds. See where I'm going with this?
To its advantage, the game does reinforce taking turns, and it does use hand-eye coordination to keep the little hammer tapping on one single block. There is a bit of strategy involved as well. However, my son and his friend were more interested in smashing in the blocks than trying to keep the skating bear afloat and that kept me one busy "helper". My hopes of pulling out a game to keep them occupied for ten minutes while I cleaned up lunch? Completely dashed. :(
My guess is that once a kid is old enough to set the game up himself, he'd probably be too old to enjoy playing the game.
Customer Review: An inexpensive classic
Summary: 4 Stars
Games for small children are notoriously hard to come by. "Don't Break the Ice" is one of the few available and a classic in its own right.My young son loves this game and we play all sorts of variations including moving the main ice piece that holds the bear to different places so we can experiment with the "physics" of the game. (So there is a true educational element.) We also try to put the ice pieces back in the frame using different patterns of insertion. This helps kill the time factor in getting the game pieces ready to play.
With its minimum of rules anyone can pick this game up in a minute. It's fun and can be played by "kids" of all ages. Given its low price, it's a no miss. Even if little children get more fun out of making the bear fall than not, so what? Think of it as a more versatile "hammer & peg bench" toy.
There are some durability issues. If one of the tabs that hold the ice breaks, you are out of luck. The frame consists of two pieces that slide together and the connection is prone to breakage. Still, at this price point it's a lot easier to replace than many of the fragile toys that cost far more. In fact you could buy every toy in the Milton Bradley "Cootie" line and still be under the cost of just one other plastic toy.
A good bet for a good price.
Customer Review: Classic fun that's sure to impress
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll never forget playing Don't Break The Ice when I was a kid, because it's always been one of my favorites. I don't have any kids of my own yet, but I have a niece and she and I played this game for a few hours straight one day last week. She probably has even more fun playing it than I used to. It's a simplistic game that any adult can play with their kid, niece, etc., and find themselves having fun doing it and feeling like a kid again themselves! My niece especially gets a kick out of it when I break the wrong piece of ice I lose.
A game of Don't Break The Ice doesn't usually last long. You basically place all of about 20 plastic ice cubes into the holder, with the red man standing in the center. Both you and your opponent have a plastic hammer and you take turns knocking out one block of ice. But soon you won't be able to help breaking into 2 or 3 blocks of ice in one turn and the poor guy in the middle will be tilted downward staring into a chilling abyss. Whoever hits the piece of ice that results in the guy falling through, loses. This can inspire some competitive spirit, laughs, and trash talking.
If you have any kids around, I recommend getting Don't Break The Ice for sure; it's a great way to spend time together.
Customer Review: Hammer time! - A Very Exciting Game
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very exciting game. My kids discovered this game in their Sunday school church. They have been playing with it every week and it is a lot of fun. I can compare the excitement you get when playing Jenga when it is about to fall, you know it is coming except you don't know if it is gonna happen on your turn. This is a classic toy/game, it has been around for many years and it doesn't get old.
The game is set up with blocks of ice in a square frame. You place an ice skater on top of one of the blocks and the players start hammering down one block at a time. The object of the game is not be the player who hammers the last block that will make the ice skater fall down. It is a very simple to set up and likewise very simple game to understand that even a pre-schooler can start playing in no time.
The game is made by Milton Bradley. It is rated for 3 years old and up. It can be rated as 3 year old to 100 because there is really no limit in age to enjoy this toy. Another plus is that this is not a very expensive game.